Sustainability

Other Sustainability Projects

There are a number of other sustainability efforts on campus that fit a wide assortment of subjects. Please take a look at some of these other areas of progress, as well as the possible areas for future projects.

See a project not listed that we missed?  Please let us know and we will include it!

Addressing Climate Change

Green Computing

  • Print management strategies in student computing labs in the University Library, McGraw Hall, Andersen Hall, Winther Hall and Residence life have led to significant reductions in paper use. In the 2008-2009 academic year, over two million sheets of paper were saved by using double-sided (duplex) printing in these areas.

  • In the campus data center renovation of 2006-2008, a number of changes were made to improve energy efficiency. The first change was to reorganize the data center space to provide better airflow and more effective use of cooling. This first step reduced energy demand by about 12%.

  • The second step in the data center renovation was to shrink the size of the area being cooled.  This allowed a reduction in the number of air conditioning units from three to two and reduced the energy needed to cool this area.  In addition, air conditioning units were replaced with units that are about 30% more efficient. 

  • The third and ongoing step is selection of technology that supports reduced energy demand. iCIT has invested in energy efficient servers and storage systems that consume about 30% less energy than conventional systems. These systems work by consolidating a larger number of systems into a smaller area, sharing power and cooling resources and further reducing cooling demand.

  • iCIT estimates that the sum of the energy savings through renovation work and selection of technology is in the range of 40%. Since operation of our campus data center consumes about 442 megawatt-hours of energy in a year, this translates to a campus savings of roughly $20,000 per year. In addition to the substantial cost savings, this reduction in energy demand avoids the production and release into the atmosphere of over 348 tons of CO2 per year*.

*Source: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States US Department of Energy Report http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/co2_report/co2emiss.pdf

Landscaping and Grounds

  • College of Business and Economics is planning a new "International Sustainability Garden" near Hyland Hall to use as an educational tool to highlight sustainability in the curriculum.

  • Harold W. Tarpley Greenhouse built to facilitate efficient and expanded landscape plant propagation.

Renewable Energy

  • Completed site assessments with H&H Solar for solar electric, solar thermal, and wind (part 1-2-3) renewable energy systems on campus.

Transportation

  • The university has collaborated with the City of Whitewater for a grant to determine the feasibility of a daily commuter bus route from Janesville-Milton to Whitewater.

  • Purchased one Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) from e-ride Industries in Fall 2008 to investigate operational capacity during winter months for feasibility as an on-campus service fleet replacement. Three additional units were purchased in Spring 2009 as a result of this successful test.